Russia to raise gas price for Ukraine by $100 to $485.5 in April

MOSCOW, Apr 3 (PRIME) -- Moscow has raised the gas price for Ukraine by U.S. $100 to $485.5 per 1,000 cubic meters from April, cancelling its discount provided in 2010 under a bilateral treaty on the deployment of the Russian Black Sea fleet in Crimea, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday at a meeting with gas giant Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller.

President Vladimir Putin earlier signed a law to terminate the bilateral fleet agreements, including the 1997 and 2010 treaties, as the Crimean Peninsula has recently became part of Russia.

Gazprom plans to set prices for Ukraine without any discounts or preferences in the future, Miller said.

“In our further affairs with Ukrainian partners, we will be guided by generally established rates of customs duties on gas without any discounts and preferences,” Miller said.

Ukraine must find resources to redeem its debt for gas, which amounts over $2.2 billion, and pay for current supplies, as its cooperation with Russia in this and other spheres cannot be performed otherwise, Miller said.

Russia also plans to surcharge incomes it did not receive while Ukraine used the $100 discount under the fleet agreements, Miller added.

“We are considering the possibility of using compensatory mechanisms,” he said.

On Tuesday, Gazprom raised the price for Ukraine to $385.5 per 1,000 cubic meters from $268.5, cancelling a $100 discount provided late in 2013, since Ukraine has failed to repay the debt.

Miller said separately that Gazprom is worried by a significant decrease in gas reserves in Ukraine’s underground storage facilities.

“We are already facing the necessity to replenish the facilities for interior consumption next winter and, correspondingly, ensure the fulfilment by Naftogaz of commitments of a trouble-free transit of Russian gas to Europe,” Gazprom said in a statement.

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